Mountain and cave rescuers are still seeking funding to put them on a par with Scottish colleagues
Mountain rescuers say they will continue to work with MPs in the search for funding for their volunteer teams in England and Wales.
A recent reception at the Palace of Westminster attracted about 50 members of both the Commons and the Lords during a week in which rescuers mounted a display in Parliament.
The event was hosted by Penrith Conservative MP Rory Stewart, leader of the all-party parliamentary group on rescue services, who said: “I believe that this was an important event for Parliament because mountain rescue represents one of the very solid examples in the country of volunteers, people unpaid doing something which is completely vital to the public interest.
“For Parliament to concentrate on that and to get nearly 50 MPs in a reception, meeting mountain rescue people, I think it is going to be very important in changing perceptions of what volunteers do for us in society.”
Mountain Rescue England and Wales chairman David Allan said: “We were encouraged by the level of interest, the obvious support and the understanding of our current status as volunteers providing a vital service.
“We now need to clarify the next steps in our campaign to achieve regular and significant funding from central government.”
Mike France, head of MREW fundraising, said there was still disparity between cash given to Scottish teams and those in England and Wales.
“Volunteer rescuers, about 3,600 of them in England and Wales, are available 24/7 throughout the year for local callouts, he said.
“And they have to train for many different situations and needs. So it seems crazy that they also have to find time for fundraising just to keep their teams going and we’re hoping that the week’s discussions in Westminster will have shown MPs the huge discrepancy between the financial support given by government to Scottish rescuers – about £16,480 per team – and the much more limited funding to English teams of just £2,246 per team.”
“If government could guarantee a level of funding from the public purse closer to the Scottish figure, we’d be able to underwrite investments in vehicles and essential kit and subsidise essential training and insurance and our volunteer rescuers would be able to focus on getting the job done rather than having to worry about money.”
Mr Stewart invited Prime Minister David Cameron to the meeting last week, but he was unable to attend. However, he said in a message: “The work carried out by the volunteers and everyone involved in this service is immensely worthy of praise and recognition.”
Paul b
07 November 2013Do we know how much in total it would take to give Scottish Levels of funding to MREW?
Would ALSAR need some funding?
Could not the local authorities give something or perhaps a small top up to parking fees? at least then motorists would have a tangible benefit.
Keith
07 November 2013Considerably less than one million to fund the 50 or so Mountain & Cave rescue teams in England and Wales.
Paul B
08 November 201350 teams funded for less than a million, surely for the social benefit it's a no brainer?
Maybe that's the campaign strap line 'Let's make it a million'?
Could we not as others do have an e mail campaign to our constituency M.P. campaign and I know that even London and urban based ones will have many voters who are hill goers.
Richard
08 November 2013A million is the equivalent figure for the 57 MR and Cave Rescue teams. It would equate to approx £16,500 per team. When were lobbying in Parliament this was the fugure quoted. The other important point was that we were not just pushing for more money just for the hell of it, it was more about the need to continue funding support into the next parliament regardless of which political party wins the next election and to allow team members more freedom from fundraising to allow greater focus on training and attending incidents plus spending more time with family and friends.
I have heard a few negative comments about potential impact on our ability to continue saying 'volunteer service funded soley by voluntary donations' however, teams will still require the bulk of funding through voluntary donations as the cost of running a team remains significantly high at between £20,0000 and £85,000 depending on the workload. I am also sure our running costs will continue to rise as demands on what is a first class professional search and rescue service also continue to rise.
Whether the £1million is managed centrally on behalf of the teams for things such as personal accident,vehicle and building insurance, centrally funded training, communications, equipment development or simply handed out equitably, teams should continue to remain autonomous, resisting any strings attached conditions that might weaken or interfere with the ability of a team to operate under the voluntary ethos
Margaret
09 November 2013Mountain and Cave Rescue should spend a lot of time considering the long term implications of "...regular and significant funding from central government."
"...rather than having to worry about money”, they may have to worry about their independence.